A Financially Independent Future

Ms. A* came to the U.S. in 2013 with her 6-year-old child. Here, she met a man on a dating app who she began seeing regularly and they married in December 2014.  They both had sons who were the same age and they looked forward to building a family together with their young children. Two months after marrying, their relationship began to change. Ms. A’s husband lost his job and became aggressive and controlling.

His behavior worsened and he started stalking Ms. A and interrogating her on her whereabouts. Ms. A felt economically dependent on her husband because of his control tactics, but she was scared to look for work outside of the home because of her lack of immigration status. She was also nervous that her husband would find a way to stop the green card process or stop her from legally living in the U.S.

Now that she has employment authorization, Ms. A is working full-time as a medical assistant. She feels financially stable and safe now that she has left her husband. She is seeking counseling for the abuse and is taking a financial literacy course. Ms. A’s goal is to go back to school to further her new career.

*name changed to protect client confidentiality